Roto Riteup: July 6, 2017

Who cares about the LoMo and Gary Sanchez feud? I want a pitcher home run derby!

.@MrGrayWolf22 took #PitchersWhoRake to a new level. #Statcast pic.twitter.com/2nTL5y0WiW

— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2017

 

On the Agenda:
1. Fun with Small Samples (Pitcher’s Edition)
2. Donaldson in Red?
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

 

Fun with Small Samples (Pitcher’s Edition)
It is a slow news day, so let have some more fun with small samples!

Corey Kluber led MLB in k/9 for starters during the month of June with 13.40 k/9. Robbie Ray (12.77) and Clayton Kershaw (12.72) were second and third respectively.

Kluber and Kershaw also were atop the xFIP leaderboard for the month of June with marks of 1.69 and 2.44 respectively. Third on the list? Jimmy Nelson with a 2.66 xFIP.

Nine starters had average fastball velocities over 96 mph: Luis Severino, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Martinez, Stephen Strasburg, Michael Fulmer, JC Ramirez, Jacob DeGrom and Chris Archer. Three starters had average fastball velocities below 90 mph: RA Dickey, Jason Vargas, and Sam Gaviglio.

The highest BABIPs for pitchers during the month of June were Marco Estrada (.409), Daniel Norris (.389), and Justin Verlander (.377). The lowest were Ariel Miranda (.167), Max Scherzer (.171), and Zack Godley (.180).

The highest hard contact given up over the course of June were allowed by Justin Verlander (44.9%), Jakob Junis (44.8%), and Chris Archer (44.2%). The lowest hard contact given up were allowed by Corey Kluber (17.9%), Max Scherzer (23.6%) and Jeff Samardzija (24.5%).

Only one pitcher gave up double digit homers last month, John Lackey. Though Masahiro Tanaka had the highest HR/FB with 30.4%.

Only one starter stranded less than half of his baserunners: Dinelson Lamet (39.8%).

 

Donaldson in Red?
According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, the St. Louis Cardinals have interest in acquiring Josh Donaldson from the Toronto Blue Jays. Morosi also states that there have been no formal negotiations between the two clubs. The Blue Jays will likely be in sell mode at the trade deadline as they currently reside at the bottom of the AL East. Donaldson is in the midst of a down season, however, some of the blame of that is health woes that have hampered his season.

 

 

Streaming Pitcher Options
A pitcher for today: Mike Montgomery vs MIL
Montgomery has pitched well in the starting rotation and the Brewers strikeout the fourth highest percentage versus left-handed pitching.

A pitcher for tomorrow: None